May I Have This Dance?
by KokoKuma
Summary: Arthur Kirkland's the School Council President, the one with the bad attitude and temper. Alfred F. Jones' a school jock, the one obsessed with heroism. Put those two together, marooned in the school for a night, you might find some sparks flying, secrets revealed and fixed hearts. ((Rated T for Profanities, blood and mentions of abuse. USUK ))
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: A lot of Profanities and grouchiness. Also, POVS switch every few paragraphs. This is an literature RP. **

Alfred looked at the poster on the notice board for the third time that day, and sighed. The poster was for the school's Annual ball next week, something he's absolutely horrified of. Well… Not completely. There's food, for one. But he just can't help but shudder at the fact that he had to wear suits... And dance. Man the only moves he knew was stumbling about and probably accidentally pushing something down.

He sighed again.

Arthur sighed at the 2 page-long list. There was so much to do to prepare for the School Annual Ball. So much to do, so little time. Curse Feliciano and his planning, you can't simply plan for the Ball to be 2 weeks after the examinations and expect everything to be done!

Deciding to leave the poster alone – along with looming thought of the upcoming ball, he turned around and walked down the school's empty corridor. It's already pretty late and the school's pretty much deserted. He had some after school activity, so staying back was inevitable... Oh well, not everyone can be lucky on the same day.

As he was nearing the student council's room, however, he heard some muttering... Swearing, to be precise. He stopped and wondered about why the person in the room was still in school.

"FUCK!" Arthur dropped all the papers he had been filtering through, the sheets fluttering down like leaves. He clutched his hand in pain. Bloody paper cuts. He sucked the blood out and then gathered the fallen stack of paper.

The Briton stifled a yawn. God, he was so tired after such a long day of council meetings. All because of this _stupid_ ball. The more he thought about it, the stronger his objection towards such an unnecessary event became. Seriously, what was the use of this? "Perhaps it's just to make everyone out of love hurt even more," he muttered to nobody in particular.

Alfred laughed a little on the inside as he heard the little explosion inside the room. With that thick British accent, there's no doubt that Mr. grouchy Artie was sitting in again. He took his phone out and looked at the time, 4.50. The school gates closed at 6, so he's got at least an hour to mess with the guy inside.

He'd heard a lot about Arthur. Well, mainly negative comments though. Stuff like the guy's got really bad temper issues, way to strict to take a joke, and definitely the worst person to befriend or even talk to. But personally, he's never really interacted with the Brit. Well... he's seen him around the school ground a few times. ... And among those times, that seemed to always be frowning. His huge eyebrows all knitted and stuff... He found it really funny.

Thinking that it's about time he test the stuff he's heard about Mr Grouchy Artie, he grinned to himself in anticipation as he slipped his phone back in his pocket, and approached the room.

Arthur's acute hearing caught the sound of laughter coming from the door. He turned around, a scowl already on his face, ready to welcome the person who had ruined the peace. His eyes glinted with the intent to kill when he saw Alfred Jones saunter in. The bloody _git_ was a human boombox that wouldn't shut up due to the loss of a switch.

"What do you want, Jones?" The Briton seethed, fingers fumbling for something that he could use as a weapon to throw at the American just in case. His item of choice happened to be a stapler.

Alfred wasn't sure if going into the room was a good idea anymore... Especially when the guy in front of him was holding a stapler... In a stance he was way too familiar with- a stance a footballer would do before throwing the ball. (American Football)

"Woah, dude. Chill!" Alfred said as he immediately raised both his arms in a surrendering position. "I'm not here to assassinate you or anything, so you can drop that weapon of yours." He suggested with a beam. Girls all fall for the beam.

Arthur narrowed his eyes, gripping on to the stapler even tighter than before. Fucking Alfred and his fucking smile trying to fucking seduce him - okay he needed to cool down. A gentleman throwing profanities and staplers around was purely unacceptable...okay maybe throwing staplers around was acceptable. He ceased the thoughts filled with vulgarities, but held on the stapler. Self-defence was a completely acceptable reason to be holding a weapon.

A smile tugged at Arthur's lips as a beautiful plan formed in his mind. "Weapon?" He commented innocently. "How could such a simple piece of stationery be a lethal weapon?" The Brit continued on to analyse it. "Unless..." he looked up at the American, still feigning innocence, "You are...afraid?" He layered the last word with malice, eyes practically glowing dangerously.

Okay, Alfred could have sworn that the gun in front of him just turned from murderous to plotting to innocent in split seconds. He's gulped; perhaps today was not a good time to make a new friend...

But the hero wouldn't quit. The words 'give up' don't exist in his dictionary. Maybe because 'give up' was a phrase instead of a word... Anyway.

"Me? Afraid?" Alfred laughed. "Dude, the hero's never afraid." He took a discreet deep breath, readied himself to duck if needed, and casually strolled into the room. The Brit's glare followed him.

He plopped himself on a chair in the room and made himself comfortable. If he was going to get murdered by a stapler today, then he might as well make his last moment a comfortable one. "Anyway, You can just call me Alfred." He smiled, more to the friendly side this time, and offered his hand.

Arthur caught how strained the self-proclaimed "Hero's" laughter was. It was literally in his blood to smell fear. Most likely a trait inherited from his great-grandfather, a pirate from the golden ages.

_So much for telling the school you're a hero, eh Jones?_

He kept his innocent stance, smiling even wider. He stopped himself from scoffing at Jones. A self-introduction? As if anyone in the school did my know him. He was the perfect example of an abuser of the ability of speech! Arthur ignored the outstretched hand and gripped his stapler. "Arthur Kirkland, pleasure," he replied, trying to be civil. He allowed sarcasm to drip from his words. The American was too bloody dense to figure it out anyway.

Alfred heaved a sigh of relief in the inside when Arthur shook his hand. That's a start... Right? Oh well, he's not going to be defeated by the guy in front of him. In fact, becoming friends with the person in front of him might even help him with his already loud reputation in school.

Great. Friends they shall be. Or at least, what he hoped for them to be. It sounded better than being killed by a stapler.

"Nice to meet ya, Artie." He grinned again as the Brit's huge eyebrows knitted in that familiar way. "Just curious but, why are you still in school at..." he looked at the wall clock in the room... one that resembled a small Big Ben. "5.10? Is there really that much work for the school council?"

More importantly however, what was the American's ulterior motive anyway, if the bloody git was capable of critical thinking. Arthur almost laughed out loud. Alfred Foster Jones? Critical thinking? Yup, the stress from planning the ball was taking a major toll on Arthur. He definitely needed a cup of tea to soothe himself later.

Alfred was going to pretend to ignore the fact that Arthur didn't quite sound enthusiastic about their whole conversation. It's not like the guy's annoyed by him or something, right?

"I could ask the same of you," Arthur asked in reply. "And the name's Arthur, not Artie, or whatever funny petname you have in store for me."

"Hey dude I totally asked you first." he complained. "But seeing that I'm obviously the more awesome guy here, I'll start. I ran a little late for football practice today, so coach had me run rounds. And… That's basically it. Your turn." He said as he stood up attentively, looking at Arthur with anticipating eyes.

"Who are you to complain here?! I asked you what you were doing here first, Jones, going down to technicalities, thank you very much." Arthur snapped. He noticed that puppy-dog stare from the American and exclaimed "Bloody hell enough with the eyes!" He was really reaching his breaking point with Alfred. Fucking American — let's not go back to that.

"Anyway, if you absolutely must know, I'm stuck here planning for this stupid ball that you stupid teenagers are so excited about due to your raging hormones," Arthur replied with distaste blatantly glazing each word. Put your index finger and thumb together as if you were rubbing your fingers. Now pull them ever so slightly apart till they are barely touching. That was how close Arthur was to throwing the stapler.

"Oh, the ball." Alfred laughed at the part about raging hormones. Its like the Brit in front of him thought that everyone in school's eager to get laid.

...Well maybe Arthur wasn't exactly wrong. Alfred himself knew some people who's more than eager to get a girlfriend.

"Hey..." Just then, the mention of the ball struck a spark in Alfred's mind, a spark that's gonna become a one way ticket away from the ball, the stuff suits, and the stupid dancing. "How about, you just cancel the ball?"

"What?" Arthur did not see that coming. So much for expecting the American to go on about his date. "W-Well…" Arthur honestly did not even consider it at first. He didn't know what to think. He could have just given up… no. That's irresponsible. Gentlemen aren't responsible. "It's highly tempting, but no." Arthur didn't even watch the American's face fall.

"I'm just one person. This is just my own selfish desire. It should not come in the way of what, 200 others enjoying their ball. I hear students chatter about it every single day to the point it gets annoying, but it shows how excited they are. I suppose almost everyone looks forward to making memories."

Arthur found a warm feeling in his chest, a warm feeling called newfound motivation. He felt like he could do anything in the world now, all because of a bloody Ameri— hold on. What? Alfred, making him responsible?

_Arthur, you're drunk. Wake up you arse._

"Everyone but me." Alfred muttered under his breath in a pout.

"What's so fun about a ball anyway? You just come in a stupid tight as hell suit that make you more silly than a clown, then take millions of years finding a dance partner, only to embarrass yourself, trying to dance in front of others anyway." he shrugged. "Why can't the school have something more casual? A ball's way to grand and formal and stuck up if you ask me."

Alfred's brain raced as he ranted about how ridiculous the ball was, and that's when it hit him; why did they have to hold a ball anyway?

"Hey, can we hold like, a casual and relaxed party instead? you know, one that doesn't include dancing." He suggested, completely ignorant to the fact that he might have stressed way too much on the dancing part.

Enough to cause suspicion, of course.

Arthur blinked. That was too much to digest, or at least more than he had expected from Alfred anyway. Why was he expecting things from Alfred anyway? It wasn't as if he gave any fu— oh for the Queen's sake enough with that word.

_ ARTHUR KIRKLAND STOP ABSORBING YOURSELF WITH THOUGHTS YOU BLOODY ARSE JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE WOULD DEEM YOU INSANE FOR TALKIN TO YOURSELF_

"Well… I suppose it's for the memories." Arthur sat down on a chair and nestled the stapler in both hands. "Enjoying the feeling of a first love. Embracing how magical being in love is. Celebrating being able to find love for the first time, celebrating how high you feel because of it

"I guess it's all that. Something to look back at. All these fussiness, finding a partner, finding a suit, learning how to dance… all these things seem so important now. Yet, in the near future, or even 10 years on, it will seem petty. Something to have a little chuckle about. Yeah. Memories."

"You don't seem like one to enjoy happy memories." Alfred remarked without thinking." You know, you with your constant frowning and all."

It might be the setting sunlight peeking into the room from the windows, but Alfred could have sworn that Arthur's expression turned soft as he talked about love, the fuss, and basically about memories. He could be wrong, maybe he was wrong.

But for that split moment, Arthur looked quite... cute, actually.

Alfred took a second to think about their interaction from their first exchange of words. Sure Arthur's... quite a lot on the mean and unwelcoming side, but now, he's pretty sure that the school's theories about him were mostly wrong. The guy's definitely got a stuck up his ass, but he's not a complete asshole. At least not now.

"But learn to dance eh..." Alfred repeated Arthur's words in a mutter, wondering if he should follow it. There's still a good two weeks to get started, so if he want to, he could probably do it...

"Say Artie, do you by any chance know how to dance?" Alfred asked.

He was hoping that Arthur would say no, so he could perhaps go ahead and ask the guy to go join a dancing class with him. It's always better to have someone fail along side you, they could laugh at each other, then help each other out. It's a flawless plan.

Well. Unless Arthur actually knew how to dance...

"Well… I suppose I still have it in me…" Arthur trailed off before the gears in his mind clicked.

"IS THIS SOME BLOOD METHOD OF SEDUCTION YOU BLOODY GIT."

"Wha- Seduction?!" The word almost sent Alfred falling back on his chair. "W-why would I even do that?! This is our first time talking!" Alfred stuttered, he could feel his cheeks turning hot, but he's gonna blame it on the light. Yep. Definitely the light.

Arthur swore his cheeks weren't on fire. At least not like the American's. The bloody GIT was an apple. An apple. Arthur clutched his weapon of mass destruction again and stood up, pointing the thing in accusation. "How am I supposed to know, git?"

"Wh-whoa! Dude! Chill!" Alfred found himself in the familiar surrendering position as he sunk deeper into his chair. Honestly now, who made it even legal for this guy to own anything sharp or hard?! This guy could easily kill someone with those things!

"Okay, okay. I got it! You know how to dance! Now chill. I have absolutely no intent of seducing you.. Or whatsoever." He had also came to the conclusion that Arthur had never actually talked much to people, maybe except for work and meetings. But that's not the point.

"So you know how to dance, eh?" He clarified with a disappointment too hard to hide. He was honestly looking forward for a pal in the dancing class... Maybe he should just scratch the idea and bail the ball. Not show up or something.

"I suppose." Arthur said warily. A random thought of kindness suddenly decided to stride into his brain. "Would you like me to teach you...how to dance I mean."

He had better not regret this.

"H-huh?" Hearing the offer, Alfred found himself surprised and out of words.

... Did the guy who was going to kill him just a second ago... Offer to teach him how to dance?

"…never mind forget I said anything." Arthur wanted so badly to take back his words. So much for trying to be helpful. He looked up at the time to provide himself with a distraction.

Fuck. It was 6.10pm.

* * *

**A/N: **

This is a kind of fan fiction where we've finished the whole thing and it's going through editing. Therefore, if chapters don't come in...we're still editing ._.

Thanks so much for reading this! We hope you enjoyed this, but it's only the beginning ;)

Do drop a review if you have the time, we'd love to hear from you! :D

~KokoKuma


	2. Chapter 2

"No no no," Alfred blurted as he stood up, surprising the Brit a little. He could see Arthur's grasp on the staple tighten again. Okay... On hindsight, he should have stayed with his butt on the chair.

"I mean...I think it's really nice of you. To…you know, help me." Alfred had to almost mince his words, afraid that a misuse of words would get the latter agitated.

Remembering that Arthur took a glance at the clock, Alfred did the same, and realized what time it was. Well shit. 6.12. He's pretty sure that the gates were locked, and those metal bars were definitely way too high to climb over.

How about that, he got locked in the school with a potential murderer... Who's apparently and hopefully going to be his dance teacher.

Great.

Arthur couldn't believe his luck. He was stuck with some fucking imbecile that didn't know how to shut his trap for the next...12 hours. Great job Kirkland. He let out a sigh and walked over to the shelf, taking out the emergency box. Arthur had spent many occasions locked in the school finishing paperwork, so he was definitely prepared for something like this.

He was just about to lift the lid of the emergency box, until a loud rumble interrupted him. He looked at Alfred, who looked like he was trying to hide his embarrassment.

"W-what?" Alfred stuttered, trying to act normal. "I'm hungry, okay?"

He had come to the conclusion that Arthur was probably very experienced when it came to being locked up in school... he was starting to wonder if the head of the school council actually enjoy torturing himself...

While he was still thinking about it, his stomach growled at the worst time possible, getting Arthur to look.

Alfred cursed himself in the head as he came up with a passable answer. But he can't help it, it was nearing dinner time, and he just ran rounds. He's got every right in the world to be hungry.

Seeing that Arthur probably won't share any of his food or whatever's in that emergency food, Alfred was already wondering about what he should do.

Arthur looked down at the biscuit tin and pulled the metal tin off. There were three biscuits left. It wasn't enough, but definitely enough to supply himself with food. However Alfred...he was definitely unprepared for this. Arthur's gaze darted from the tin to the American, who looked extremely troubled, and let out another sigh.

He picked up two of the crackers and left them in an outstretched hand, looking away from the American. His own cheeks were definitely _not _dusted pink. "I don't intend to be responsible for your death, so there. I-It's not like I actually care for your wellbeing...well I have a reputation to hold so..." God dammit Arthur, stop stuttering like a fool! It's just Jones...

Glancing between Arthur and the crackers he offered, Alfred was for a moment, not sure of what he was supposed to do.

Well for one, he couldn't believe that Arthur would offer him anything. He thought that the guy wanted to kill him, not give him crackers and care for his wellbeing...

Then there's the part where Arthur was actually stuttering. Stuttering and blushing... Was that even normal?!

"Pfft- Hahahahahaha"

Before Alfred could answer those questions in his brain, he had started laughing.

"Are you trying to seduce me this time?" He joked.

"Okay suit yourself. Just allow my goodwill to go to waste," Arthur commented as he mimicked the action of putting the cracker into his mouth at a painfully slow rate.

"Wha- no one said anything about not wanting it!" Alfred exclaimed as he sprang up and almost lunged for the cracker.

His footballer instinct came into play, and when he realized that he wasn't actually playing football, it was too late

He tackled into Arthur and as the two fell, realized how badly the consequence would be if Arthur were to suddenly fall back on the ground like that.

Being a footballer, he's pretty used to playing rough... But Arthur, well, Arthur might sprain his neck or something.

So he did what every hero would do. Changing his tackle to a hug as they fell, he spun Arthur around. The both of them ended up falling to the ground anyway, but Alfred served as a good cushion.

Alfred did what every hero would do, he had sacrificed himself.

While he was still replaying that heroic move he did in his mind and filled with accomplishment, his eyes landed on Arthur's face, and what an expression it was.

Arthur looked like he'd just seen someone died in front of him, his eyes wide open and stunned beyond words.

_Oh shit._ Alfred thought as his mind raced to come up with something to change the tense atmosphere a little.

It was then where he spotted the cracker in Arthur's hand. The latter was too stunned to eat it among all the action. Immediately, Alfred lifted his head off ground and bit into the crackers.

"One does not simply say no to crackers." he grinned as he finished up the whole cracker in two bites.

It all happened too fast. One second ago Arthur was just teasing Alfred into eating the cracker, and now, both of them were sprawled on the ground _embracing each other_. He felt his whole face light up.

He immediately rolled out of Alfred's arms, deftly picked up the stapler and straddled him, pointing the stapler at his face. The other cracker in his hand was left abandoned on the floor.

"What are you trying to pull here,Jones.?! Answer."

There was a yelp for the cracker.

"Dude! Not the cracker!" Alfred almost cried as the poor cracker landed on the ground.

Moment of silence for the dropped food.

At the cry, Arthur's blood began to boil. He pulled Alfred up by the collar to the point their noses were barely touching. He glared into Alfred's eyes, cold, murderous green against defenceless baby blue.

"Stop fucking with me, Jones. What. Do. You. Want," he seethed. If looks could kill, Jones would have died aeons ago. That was how powerful Arthur's glare was.

Okay... No one told him about Arthur being actually possibly murderous... Alfred gulped - this could end quite badly.

"Ahahaha... That was a little overboard, wasn't it?" He laughed awkwardly, looking away. Well, things have already gotten this bad, there's pretty much nothing else he could do but state his intention.

"I just want to be friends."

Arthur heard what he said and burst into laughter, dropping his stapler and rolling around on the floor in laughter. He didn't care if he was seen as some psychopath, it was just so hilarious. Like life itself.

Huh.

Life.

What a joke that thing was.

It's so funny living life.

How do you do that anyway?

"What are you trying to gain. Popularity? Laughs?" Arthur sobered down and snarled at him.

Alfred had to admit that for the whole of this night, he just kept getting surprised.

Meeting and getting to know about Arthur was one thing, but seeing Arthur change so vastly before him was another.

He watched, eyes wide open and mouth ajar as the person before him laughed, then interrogated him. It's almost as if... Arthur's broken.

"I.." He shouldn't lie about anything, even if lying would get him a better result than being honest. But he had the feeling that he shouldn't lie to Arthur.

If there's anything he's learnt from their near four hours of interaction, then it would be that he can't lie to him, not if he really wants to be his friend.

"My intention from the start is to be your friend." He said as he sat up right. If he was going to do things right, then he's going to need all the courage in him.

"But my motive behind it had changed. You were right, before that, i wanted to befriend you for the reputation."

Arthur just laid back on the cold hard ground. It felt so much warmer suddenly. Warmer than the sad reality anyway. He felt hot tears prick the back of his eyes but just stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Get out," he choked out.

"... You might not believe me now, but I'm telling the truth." Alfred took a deep breath.

"I'm sure you will agree that a lot has happened since we first talked. And my motive has changed." He said as he stood up. "Now there is no motive."

"I just really, really want to be your friend."

With that, he walked out of the room.

"BYE BYEEEEE~" Arthur giggled, a little bit creepily. He continued the laughter until he couldn't hear Alfred's footsteps anymore. It was then the laughing ceased and evolved into sobbing.

"Yer alone Arthur."

"Bloody Hell, shut up Scott."

* * *

A/N by Arthur's Mun: The plot thickens with Arthur on the brink of insanity!

...I do this to my characters too often. ._.

But anyway! Thanks so much for reading this chapter and both Al's Admin and I hope you've enjoyed it. :'D

Also, _wow. _Thank you guys **soooooo** much for favouriting, reviewing and following this story. It means a lot to us 3

See you guys next chapter!

**UPDATE 080713 : Sorry guys, I added a few lines here because it made more sense this way. Thanks! ~Arthur's Mun**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N to the readers who read the previous chapter before 9th of July 2013: Sorry guys, I ended up adding like 10 more lines to the end of it to make this chapter make a little more sense. Do read them, because they are fairly important for later parts of this story. Thanks! ~Arthur's Mun**

* * *

Alfred ended up in his homeroom, sitting on his seat and stared out the window. The sun set early today and the moon was slowly rising, filling the quiet room with its soft glow.

He thought back on the words exchanged with Arthur, on how hurt Arthur looked when he mentioned his motive, on the very moment he walked away. He thought he saw Arthur holding back tears

Resting his head on his desk, he sighed and wondered about what he should do. He's still hungry, for one. But that's not in any way a priority right now. He had to fix things, but at the same times, he wanted to leave everything alone

Screw the dancing and the ball.

He'll just pretend that everything didn't happen, that he had never talked to Arthur before, and will not talk to him, that he got locked in because he dozed off in his classroom. Everything would be fine then. It's the simple way out, but not the right way, and he knew that very well.

He had decided to take his book out and give it a read to clear his mind, but when he reached out for his bag, something bad hit him. He left his bag back at Arthur's office.

Taking that as a sign for him to go back, he sighed and unwillingly dragged himself down to Arthur's office. As he walked down the corridor, he pondered over what to say and do. Maybe he could just stay outside and wait for Arthur to doze off or something. That would be the best way to get his bag without getting into any unwanted trouble.

But as he was nearing the room, another sound caught his attention. It was soft, and almost inaudible, but Alfred was sure of what it was.

Peeking into the room, he found himself stunned once again when he saw Arthur sobbing.

"Just shut your trap, Scott. You don't know what's going on." Arthur sat down on the floor, leaning against the couch. He looked away from the redheaded apparition next to him. The latter just sat down next to the Peridot-eyed male.

"Come on Art. No reason to be sad or grumpy over some lad," Scott said in order to comfort Arthur. He didn't seem convinced.

"I'm not sad over him!" he retorted weakly.

"Yeah yeah right. Yer tears convince me," Scott scoffed. Arthur quickly wiped them away, refusing the fact that he was crying. Silence passed between the two.

"Look, maybe I can't help you here, but hey, God's there to help you if you need it. All you need to do is put your hands together and pray." Scott suggested.

"How will that help? Am I Catholic or Protestant, God I don't know! I'm not sure if praying to someone I may or may not even believe in will assist my current confusion, sadly," Arthur said. "But other than that, thank you for helping me, Scott. You're my saviour once again."

"It's not problem, yer little tyke. Now you go outside and bravely face the world like the young soldier I know you to be." Scott ruffled Arthur's hair lovingly, kissing the crown of his forehead before fading off. Arthur closed his eyes and smiled a little, endeared by the loving action. He took a deep breath and stood up.

_Time to feed the git._

Alfred stood with his back against the wall right beside the door, away from sight. He's been listening to Arthur talking to himself, and honestly saying, it was a little creepy. But he'd heard so much pain and desperation from that voice that it hurt him.

He was still lost in the sadness of the voice when he heard footsteps coming his way. Within seconds, Arthur was walking out of the room, and their eyes met.

Arthur was smiling.

But to Alfred, that smile was sadder than any frown he's seen.

"Oh hello Alfred!" Arthur chirped, forcing every ounce of happiness he could muster. Alfred didn't reply. "Rather late now, eh?" Arthur continued. He took Alfred's hand and put the cracker in it, closing the American's fingers around it.

"I thought you might be hungry, so go on, eat up!" He said, feeling his smile faltering.

He took a glance at Alfred's eyes. They were lost and looked...it was impossible to describe it. Perhaps it was an expression one would wear if one were forced to watch a puppy die. Grieving maybe?

Silence.

More unsettling silence.

Arthur averted his gaze to the window of the Student Council room. The moon was bright and round.

"Beautiful isn't it?" He commented.

Alfred took a look at the cracker in his hand, and then at the Brit. Arthur looked even more brittle under the moonlight, and in that moment, something in him just stirred.

He didn't know much about this person in front of him, but he figured he's known enough. Taking a step forward, he hugged Arthur without a second thought.

They've only known each other for less than a day, but he'd seen enough of Arthur's pain. And for reasons he couldn't explain, he knew that he had to do this.

"Don't smile when you don't want to. It hurts both you and me." He muttered beside Arthur's ear

Arthur felt warm.

At first he thought it was a fever, but then he heard Alfred whisper in his ear.

Alfred was hugging him. For some reason it felt...welcoming. For once, things didn't seem so bad anymore. For once, he felt like it was okay.

He felt something salty in his mouth.

Tears...?

He was crying. Huh. He lifted his hand up to wipe it away, careful not to break the hug.

Somehow the tears refused to stop falling. Soon he was a crying wreck. Arthur covered his face with his hands. He didn't need Alfred to see the weaker side of him.

Hearing the soft sobbing again, Alfred heaved a sigh of relief. The sobbing was different this time. He couldn't exactly tell how since he wasn't the one crying, but he could tell, and promise that he's here.

That's the difference that mattered to him. He's here this time.

"It's okay, just cry it all out." Alfred whispered in a soothing voice as he gently patted Arthur's back. "I'm here, everything's fine."

He ruffled the Brit's soft hair to reassure him of his presence.

"I'm here."

Arthur just soaked into Alfred's presence. He had never felt more alive. He never felt happier. It'd been a while since he ever smiled genuinely. Who knew the reason why would be a bloody git?

He returned the hug gingerly. Close contact was something he wasn't used to.

"Thank you," he whispered, trying to make it audible without squeaking. Tears still wouldn't stop falling; he was like a broken faucet.

Alfred was sure he couldn't have managed a warmer smile than the one he had when he heard Arthur's attempt at thanking him. Those two words, barely audible, just made everything he's done worth it.

He tightened his hug a little before letting go to see Arthur's face. His green eyes were a little red and puffy from crying, and two streaks of tears ran down his red cheeks. But among it all, was a smile, not as big and obvious as the one Arthur had faked, but it was a true one.

He wiped the streaks of tears away from Arthur's face with his hands, and smiled.

"Care to dance?" He asked; bending a little and lifting Arthur's hand to his face."I thought you said you didn't know how to dance?" Arthur said. Hewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewas ntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblu shinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushing hewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewas ntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblu shinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushing hewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewas ntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblu shinghewasntblushinghewasntblushinghewasntblushing 

...He was blushing.

Really badly.

"But hey, why not," Arthur chuckled, mocking a curtsy before laughing out loud. He felt so free, he could do anything.

Alfred shrugged before managing an embarrassed smile. "I don't. But I'm hoping you could teach me." He looked away, pretty sure that he was blushing too.

He's been surprised several times tonight, but for once now, when he saw Arthur blush and chuckle, he wasn't surprised.

For some reason, he knew that Arthur could be this cute.

"I suppose it's the only logical thing to do since we're marooned here," Arthur considered aloud. "All right lad. Time to get down to business!"

* * *

**A/N: **Ohohoho~ Look what we have here! A resolution, yet not quite a resolution? And yes, as Arthur's Mun, I have no regrets with my references, two of them actually. Send us a review if you've spotted them, aye?

As usual, we're really hyped up because ZOMG LOOK AT ALL THE FOLLOWERS, FAVOURITES AND REVIEWS. Thank you so much for reading this story. All the same, we're really happy and hopefully you guys are enjoying this story as much as we did.

But heads up for the next chapter - have your earphones, youtube tab open, and a whole lot of tissues, because I don't know whether the next chapter will affect you as much as it did to both us writers.

Thanks and see you all next chapter!

~Arthur's Mun.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: We recommend listening to "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by John Mayer.**

* * *

"I suppose the council decided the best song for the dance would be John Mayer's Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, so we'll have to train you with that beat!' Arthur concluded.

The Brit led Alfred into the room and set up the audio system that the Student Council Room had. Once everything was set, he walked over to Alfred and held his hands, beckoning him to sway to the beat of the song.

"Step one to dancing is to figure out the beat. The DJs will give some allowance of time for everyone to assemble on the dance floor, so make use of that," Arthur advised. "I suppose if you feel a little nervous or odd during the dance you could just start off at the corner of the dance floor."

"Ri-right. Erm..." Alfred focused on the music as he tried to get the beat, but the song was so different from the loud and fast music he usually listen to, making it a lot harder than he thought.

He ended up possibly wriggling about like an intoxicated penguin.

"First question, are you dancing with a lady?" Arthur asked. You'd never know what to expect.

"How am I supposed to know?" Alfred sighed. "I've never thought of a dance partner since I've never thought of actually learning how to dance and going to the ball, you know..."

In fact, this was his first time dancing, but he decided to leave that out.

"Hmm...If that's the case I shall assume you're taking a lady," Arthur concluded.

"Alright. Basically you place one hand on your lady's hip," Arthur positioned Alfred's hand to his own hip, ignoring the awkwardness.

"You lady will have a hand rested on your shoulder," Arthur proceeded to do as he had explained. The next part was a little awkward. The thought made Arthur blush.

"And then the other hands hold each other, like this." Arthur showed Alfred. "The interlocked hands are to be lifted to shoulder level."

Alfred almost jumped when his hand was put on Arthur's waist. He could see that Arthur didn't mind it as much as he did. In fact, Arthur was literally ignoring how awkward it was. He took a deep breath.

_Just a lesson Alfred, now stop being so childish and learn it properly._

And he thought that it would work.

When Arthur placed his hand on Alfred's shoulder, Alfred thought it was still okay and he's probably getting the hang of things. But the next requirement really got him.

As Arthur instructed him, their hands interlocked. And he swore, the moment their hands met, his heart almost jumped out of his chest. Awkwardness aside, he was just extremely nervous.

The distance between them was short, and even though they were hugging just a moment ago, the little bit of space between them now was making it hard to breathe.

Alfred decided to look down at the ground, as he counted his heartbeat and tried to calm down.

_Relax. It's just a dance lesson. Just a lesson..._

For some reason, the statement he used to calm himself down had also unknowingly planted a shard of disappointment in him.

This was just a lesson, and Arthur's probably already had a dance partner. On the day of the ball, he won't be dancing with Arthur.

"Last part is to just take small steps and sway naturally," Arthur finished. They swayed together to the beat of the music. Ah, what a beautiful piece of music. Yet it just had to depict the sadness of a heartbreak.

Was that what he was feeling in his heart now? A Heartbreak?

Heartbroken because he knew Alfred would just forget him soon?

Heartbroken because he'd be watching Alfred dance with another girl on at the ball?

The distance between them was slight. It reminded him of their earlier emotional embrace. He looked up at Alfred. The American seemed distracted and slightly uncomfortable. Arthur frowned and spaced themselves a little.

Oh well. The moment was beautiful while it lasted.

As they continued the step-by-step dance lesson, Alfred kept looking at the ground, fearing that should their eyes lock, his heart might actually leap out of his chest.

But when Arthur took a step backwards and widened the distance between them, he felt as if something in him just fell down a cliff. Just a moment ago, he was dying for a bit more space, but when Arthur did give him some, he felt disappointed.

But it was for both their good, right?

After all, the distance between them during the real ball would be even greater.

He sneaked a look at Arthur's face and felt his heart pricked when he saw the frown returning to his face. But there's more to the frown this time. There was disappointment.

Alfred didn't think he could take it anymore.

"L-let's have a break, shall we?" He stuttered, trying to act like his normal cheerful self and pointed at the wall clock. "It's already 10 pm."

"Y-Yeah," Arthur replied, trying so hard to keep disappointment out of his voice. Alfred sounded like he was afraid. _Of me mostly likely._

Maybe he had reasons to. Everyone was afraid of him anyway. Who knows, a few hours down the road, Arthur would be lonely again.

The Brit walked over to the sound system and switched it off, then forcing a smile at Alfred.

_You walk a lonely road, Arthur. A road no one has walked before._

Alfred sat down on the couch and pat at the empty spot beside him, motioning for Arthur to sit down. He figured that as long he doesn't make eye contact, he would be able to keep calm.

Besides, Arthur looked too sad when he's alone.

Alfred wondered if he could hug Arthur again. Just to assure the other that he's still here.

With that thought, he stood up, reached out, and pulled Arthur to sit beside him. And the two did, for a moment, just sat beside each other in silence. Alfred held on to Arthur's hand.

_Just for now,_ he thought, _let me hold his hand_

_Because on the day itself, someone else would be dancing with Arthur, someone so much better than me._

Arthur felt warmth returning to him, the sadness and loneliness from previously felt dejection melting away with their interlocked fingers. He just wanted to pause right here, right now, and stay here forever.

But time was cruel. It moved on.

_But for now_ Arthur thought as he slowly intertwined his fingers with Alfred's. _Let me hold his hand._

* * *

The silence between them got Alfred thinking. They've spent time together, not long, but somewhat quality time. But now that he thought of it, he didn't actually know much about Arthur.

"So uhh..." Alfred broke the silence as he changed his position a little so he could look at Arthur. Heck, he's not going to care about avoiding eye contact anymore. For all he knows, everything might be gone after tonight, and he's going to make good use of the night.

"What do you like to do? You know, as a hobby."

Alfred bit on the inner wall of his cheeks at how horrible a question he had asked. But it was a start...sort of.

Arthur raised his eyebrows at the sudden question. He smiled a little and looked at his lap, where his free hand rested.

"Promise me you won't laugh..." Arthur tried to sound intimidating, 'tried' being the keyword here.

Alfred shrugged. "Promise."

Arthur felt his cheeks burn with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. "Embroidery," he muttered, barely moving his lips. He took interest in his calloused hand on his lap, waiting for the American to laugh his head off.

"Embroidery? Like, the one you sew patterns on cloth and stuff?" Alfred clarified, trying hard not to notice how cute Arthur was acting.

"I-It's more practical than playing video games all the time okay!" Arthur retorted. It's a wonder how his face wasn't on fire already.

"Hey, chill." Alfred let out a chuckle at how defensive Arthur became. "Embroidery is hard core okay. It takes like ten million years of patience to finish one small design. If anything, I think people who actually enjoy embroider are amazing."

He paused.

"What's wrong with video games anyway? That takes skills too you know. "

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "How do video games require skill?"

"Of course it does! Have you ever played one before? Video games are amazing okay, and you need to be super good to stay alive in some of them." Alfred explained; talking about his hobby had almost literally installed a new core in him as he enthusiastically explained things to his newfound friend.

Arthur felt like giggling. He felt like a 13-year-old girl experiencing an infatuation for the first time. It wasn't his fault. Alfred was really…adorable being so hyper. At least for once the random rambling was adorable. Arthur took time to appreciate the moment. Alfred's eyes were sparkling. Oh what a beautiful shade of blue! And that smile. How it made Arthur himself want to smile with him. The room seemed so much brighter now.

Alfred was just about to start talking about how shooting in video games needed extreme accuracy when he noticed Arthur's expression. Arthur was looking at him with a small, but warm smile. His emerald green eyes were quite big for a male, and they shone with life under the soft moonlight.

Before he knew it, he'd gone silent, completely enchanted by Arthur.

It took a while before Arthur realised that they were making direct eye contact, regarding each other with such an… endearing? Was that the word? Yes endearing gaze. His cheeks were about to combust into flames, but he couldn't care less.

All that seemed important now was how beautiful Alfred looked.

Completely lost in each other's eyes, the two didn't notice a thing as their faces came closer to each other, as if drawn by an invisible force called love.

The air around them took a standstill and it was as if the world had kept quiet for the two and their little moment. Before they knew it, their face were closer than ever, and just when their lips were about to meet. A shrill sound cut across the air and immediately snapped the two out of their trance.

The two, as if they've awoken from a dream, noticed how close they were and almost leaned back at the same time. Alfred looked away, ignored his burning cheeks, and took his ringing phone out of his pocket. It was from Matt

Arthur looked away. The hand that held Alfred's felt scorching hot, just like his cheeks.

God, what was he thinking?

Was he seriously in love with Alfred?

Alfred on the other hand, pressed the answer button and pressed the phone to his ear, turning to mouth a sorry to Arthur. He had no idea why he had to say sorry, but he just had the feeling that he needed to.

"Yes Matt I am sorry I didn't call early- you don't have to worry about me. What could happen to the hero anyway." ... Well maybe a few hours ago a stapler in the hands of a certain British boy could have murdered him.

"Yeah... I umm... Long story short I got locked in the school and now I'm taking dance classes."

As he spoke, he wondered about the feeling he had just now. It felt like he was being hit by a jolt of lightning, and electricity was just passing through him, making him numb yet.. He couldn't quite understand or explain how it felt like. But in that moment, every part of him was sure that he's in love.

He's in love with no one but the person sitting beside him, who threatened to kill him with a staple just a few hours ago.

"Yes, dancing classes." He replied Matt, who sounded extremely confused. "Look, I'll explain later, alright? Oh and do me and help me tell mum and dad. Yes I'll stay alive thank you for asking. Nights."

With that, he ended the call and put his phone on silent mode, just in case... Just in case what? Alfred shook his head a little and turned his phone back to normal mode.

Arthur scooted a little further away from Alfred. Goddammit, what was that weird feeling?

What was that electric shock?

Was he really head over heels over someone he had tried to murder a few hours ago?

No.

Yes.

Maybe?

He needed some air.

"I…erm…need to use the washroom," he said lamely, before dashing out.

_Breathe, Arthur breathe._

"Oh, ermm... See you later?" Before he could finish his sentence, Arthur had already disappeared down the corridor. For a second, he wondered if he should follow Arthur. It was already dark, and the empty school could be pretty creepy...

Well to him it was.

He sat back on the couch and made himself at home as he counted the seconds Arthur's been gone. But all the action earlier on combined with his lack of dinner and extra laps had drained quite a lot of energy, and that every fact's came back to haunt him.

Before he knew it, he drifted to sleep on the couch.

"Breathe."

Arthur splashed water onto his face. He was almost disappointed when it didn't sizzle, given what had happened in there.

…whatever that was.

"Arthur!"

"Flying Mint Bunny! Have you come to cheer me up?"

The flying green rabbit nodded her head and flew in circles around Arthur, leaving a trail of shimmery sparkles.

"Aww you're such a dear!" Arthur smiled.

"NEIGHHHH!"

Arthur looked up. The whole gang of magical friends were gathered together. He couldn't help but smile. Uni rubbed her nose against the Brit, making him chuckle.

"Stop that! It tickles!" Arthur laughed.

"What seems to be the problem? Why so glum?" A fairy in a red dress asked.

Arthur's face fell into a sad smile. "Love I suppose?"

A mutual silence fell upon the group. They had heard Arthur's conversation with Scott. As his guardians, they had to know.

"Cheer up Arthur! Love at first sight can happen. It's just like when a mother looks at her child and embraces the beauty and loves it!" A troll chirped

All the fairies stopped and glared at the green troll that mentioned it. Arthur's face fell as bad memories engulfed him, wrapping him in a dark pit.

"You shouldn't be sad, silly." A fairy consoled as she flew to give Arthur a peck on the nose.

"To be able to love someone is a blessing and the little struggles while you wait for your feelings to be returned, that's a surprise. And if your feelings are returned, then it's a present. You should be happy, Arthur."

Arthur smiled a little, though everyone saw how strained it looked. How could they not read him life a book, they had watched him grow up.

"Alright lads! 'Tis night be dandy and fine, but alas all good things must come to an end. Let's all go get some shut eye, yes?" Arthur choked out. His eyes were watering.

Everyone nodded as Arthur stood up and walked back to the Student Council room.

Arthur walked into the room, finding Alfred unmoving on the couch. Bad memories struck him. He raced towards the American to get a closer look. A dreadful feeling of Déjà vu washed over him.

_NO IM NOT LOSING—oh_

Alfred was sound asleep, chest rising up and down at a slow but steady rate.

No blood.

Not dead.

Thank God.

Arthur sat down next to him and ran a hand through the other boy's hair. The silly teen left his glasses on. Arthur carefully took them off and set them on the table. He took the blanket from the emergency box on the table.

He walked back to the couch and draped the blanket over Alfred.

He looked so adorable, that Alfred. Arthur allowed himself a little chuckle.

His own eyelids felt droopy but before he lay down on the couch next to Alfred, he couldn't resist…

He leant down and kissed Alfred's forehead, smiling bitter sweetly.

"Sweet dreams, love."

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you've enjoyed this. Both Koko and I were convulsing in the feels the dance part was giving us. But seriously, perhaps in a extremely technical way, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room is slightly inappropriate, however I feel that this song is about things not working out no matter how hard you try, which is basically what both men are thinking.

Alrighty, this is a long chapter, but thanks for sticking through it! We'll upload more soon~

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and all that good stuff! It really makes us happy!

See you guys next chapter!

- Kuma


	5. Chapter 5

Alfred was awoken by the sound of soft sobbing.

Lifting his head from the couch, he took a second to take everything in. Oh, that's right, he was locked in and things happened and while Arthur went to the bathroom, he fell asleep...

Wow, way to go Alfred.

Sitting up and catching the blanket right before it slid down to the ground, he wondered about it for a second before he turned to his right, where the sobbing was coming from.

For some reason, he wasn't surprised that Arthur was crying again, even in his sleep.

Sighing, he quietly walked to Arthur and reaching out, ran a hand through his hair slowly, whispering some words to calm the latter down.

Then, taking his jacket off, he gently covered the Brit with it, and sat down on the ground beside him. Honestly now, he can't expect himself to sleep with this guy still crying...

And so he stayed up for the rest of the night, occasionally holding Arthur's hand when the crying gets too bad. Before he knew it, morning came.

Arthur woke up finding his face wet. It was that dream again. He buried his face in the pillow, hoping it would absorb all his tears.

_Huh? Since when was my pillow blu- oh._

OH.

Everything came back to Arthur, the Brit marooned in the school with Jones. Him breaking down. Him teaching Alfred how to dance.

Him almost kissing...urgh.

Arthur tried to rub his eyes, soon realising that his right hand was occupied with…holding Alfred's hand?

He looked up blearily at the American. The bloody git was grinning.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Alfred joked, reaching out to wipe the remaining tears away. He's not sure if he should let go of Arthur yet. For one, he didn't want to let go. "It's a Saturday, so i guess you can sleep a while more if you're still sleepy." He suggested as the other sat up.

Arthur shook his head and tried to stand up and stretch, but stopped himself before he could let go Alfred's hand.

Why? He didn't know. It was one of those moments he wanted to pause again.

Seeing that it was a little hard for them to move, Alfred decided to let go after all. They won't be holding hands any other day soon, so he better not get too attached... Well, it might be a little too late for that.

Arthur almost frowned, stopping himself at the last second. His hand felt cold again. He stood up and walked out of the Student Council room, announcing that he'd be washing up.

Alfred nodded and as Arthur left to wash up, stood up and packed things. Scooping the blanket and folding it clumsily, he wondered if he should ask Arthur about why he was crying yesterday.

No matter how many times Arthur splashed his face with cold water, he couldn't seem to wake up. It was all a crazy blur. 12 hours ago he was ready to kill Alfred, but now? Heck, he tried to kiss the guy!

...but he wasn't the only one inching forward right?

What was he saying. That he liked...men? Arthur felt his face burn uncomfortably. Arthur paused to think for a moment, the rushing water being the only sound in the washroom. So what if the two of them got into a relationship? How would he tell his parents? How would he tell anyone?

Providing they got into a relationship...

He took a deep breath and exhaled. Things weren't as bad as it seems, he reminded himself.

It was impossible for Alfred to seriously fall in love with him...right?

Arthur was so confused. He had never really had a crush...no it was stronger than that. He had never really had someone he thought he'd want to spend forever with... was that seriously how he felt with Alfred?

…

Arthur took a deep breath and sighed. He was going to go back in there and do the necessary.

* * *

"Wait a minute." Alfred stopped his thoughts about Arthur halfway as he looked up with a look of sudden realization. "What the hell am i doing?!"

Everything started just yesterday and his goal was to learn to dance! Lots of things happened yesterday and yeah he sort of learnt how to dance but HOLD IT RIGHT THERE.

Falling in love with Arthur Kirkland was not part of the plan! He was supposed to only befriend him! Not fall for him enough to want to kiss him! Holy shit what the hell was going on?

As the stunning questions hit him one by one, he quickly stuffed everything back to the so called emergency box, and started pacing back and forth in the room, trying but failing to figure things out.

"Okay." Alfred stated as he pointed at a finger on his right hand. "First of all. Am I in love?"

Let's see... Bickering, hugging, dancing, hobby sharing, near kissing, unwilling to let go of him... Alfred sighed. There's no way he could mistake it, he was in love.

"Next." Shaking his head from that, he pointed at a second finger. "How big of an issue is this?"

... Well the fact that Arthur's a guy aside... Actually the whole issue here was that Arthur's a guy. He thought he was straight!

Okay, okay. It's alright, nothing wrong with loving a guy; gender shouldn't be a problem in love at all.

"... I still can't believe that I fell for him." Admitting the facts, Alfred slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed. But a thought suddenly crossed his mind and he smiled to himself.

It's not that bad.

Falling for Arthur.

Not bad at all...

"But what if he doesn't like me?!" He groaned as he fell back on the couch. "It won't be fun if I'm the only one in love" He muttered to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

There no use arguing with himself anymore, it's obvious that he was in love with Arthur, and it somehow felt different from the times when he dated other girls.

... So he was gay after all?

Well now what? He's possibly gay and in love with some stuck up guy with obvious issues and still seemed to want to kill him. What was he supposed to do next?

"I can't just ask him or tell him that I like him..." He sighed. "I'm not even sure if he like guys..."

The lost American lie on the couch as he thought through the options. He really want to tell Arthur about his feelings, but was at the same time stopped by the fear of rejection... something he had never felt or thought of before.

"But I can't just keep quiet about it!" He huffed in frustration as he sat up, only to see Arthur walking in.

... Well shit.

He hope Arthur didn't hear any of that.

Arthur walked in to find Alfred sprawled all over the couch, his face contorted in frustration. "Already angry early in the morning, are we?" he leaned against the door frame, forcing a malicious grin.

"No, no, Just fine. Just..." He darted his eyes at the objects in the room, trying to think of an excuse. "Just hungry. Yes. very hungry." He nodded to himself.

"Maybe if you didn't decide to be an arse and pounce on me yesterday you'd still have something to eat." Now that Alfred mentioned food, Arthur's head began to spin. God, when was the last time he ate something. Two days ago? Let's see...he skipped breakfast and lunch and after yesterday...

He couldn't think anymore, black spots dancing all over his vision. He tried to resist vertigo but soon, he found himself in darkness.

"Well you were the one who was teasin..." Alfred's voice trailed off as he noticed how pale Arthur looked all of a sudden. "… Artie? Are you okay?"

His question was answered when Arthur suddenly started falling back, eyes closed. Seeing that this wasn't normal, he raced forward and wrapped Arthur in his arms as the two of them fell.

For some reason, this scene felt extremely familiar.

He landed on his back again, Arthur safe in his arms... just... Unconscious.

"Arthur? Arthur! Can you hear me?" Alfred called as gently shook Arthur a little, starting to feel a little panicked

Arthur couldn't see anything, but he felt himself lying down, in someone's arms. He heard some concerned shouting, but it felt so distant, as if he were under water. He wanted to reply, but his voice decided to abandon him. He felt weak. His head was still pounding relentlessly. Being shaken by the person carrying him didn't help.

After a few minutes of lying down, his vision began to clear a little. He could see Alfred's face looking down at him, but it was a little blurry. He weakly fought off the embrace and muttered a weak reassurance, trying to stand when he had regained his vision. The last thing he needed was for the American to blow things out of proportion.

He didn't managed to carry out his plan, for his legs buckled and he fell again, back into the dark pits of semi-consciousness.

Alfred heaved a sigh of relief when Arthur regained his conscious. But he wasn't convinced at all by the latter's reassurance. His worries became real when Arthur fell again.

Having somewhat expected this, Alfred took Arthur gently in his arms, and rested him on the couch. He sat there, hugging Arthur and hearing his breathing as he thought of what to do.

Arthur's breathing was weak, but constant, so the problem probably wasn't very life threatening. He thought back on what Arthur had done from the start, hoping to spot the cause for the fainting.

It was then when the slightest clue to what might have caused Arthur to faint crossed Alfred's mind. Recalling the general health lesson he had a few days ago, Alfred remembered the fact that people usually faint when they have low blood sugar...

Arthur's been trapped in this school with him.

...And it was sort of his fault that Arthur didn't get to eat anything too...

But what if Arthur didn't eat anything before that either? Then things would make sense

With that thought, Alfred heaved a sigh of relief; he happened to know a brother who had fainted once or twice due to the same reason. He's got enough experience to know how to handle this without making a big fuss. But first, he need a kitchen.

"You almost give me a heart attack, you know that?" Alfred muttered to Arthur as he leaned in to give Arthur a peck on the chin. The latter was still unconscious. "After you wake up from this, we're going out for some proper dinner. No objections"

He had the strong intention to just sit here with Arthur in his arms till the latter regain his conscious; he didn't like the idea of leaving Arthur alone.

... But he needed to get Arthur something to eat or drink for his blood sugar...

Gentle setting Arthur to lie on the couch, he took off his jacket and covered Arthur with it, then decided that the blanket in the box earlier would be a good addition and covered it over the Jacket.

Then, gently ruffling Arthur's hair, he whispered. "I'll be right back, so stay strong and wait for me, okay?" With that, he stood up and left the room.

The home econs room should have some hot chocolate...

* * *

**A/N**_:_ Hey guys! Hope you've enjoyed this story so far, and things are about to get a lot more tense after this chapter.

Just to share a bit of my view on this Role play: it was very hard on Alfred because Arthur was so hard to approach and I literally had to think about all my moves in case i accidentally trigger something again. So yeah, you gotta thank Kuma for the intense story line.

-Koko


	6. Chapter 6

**Edit: **People, i am not sure if they do it in your country, but here where i come from, **schools are locked at night**. If you are in school after they've locked it down. Sorry man you're trapped. No really, the schools here have fence all around the school building and the only way out is the really tall gates.

Also **schools sort of open even during weekends. So it is actually perfectly fine for Mattie to enter school again the next day morning** according to our logic. Sorry I have no idea how schools in your country work but that's how my school works. Those two idiots were locked for the night. That's it, they didn't leave as soon in the morning because Arthur keeps fainting.

Okay the end enjoy the story.

* * *

Alfred was running to the home econs room when he spotted a familiar figure walking his way. Stopping for a second, he squinted his eyes to take a better look, and grinned with joy when he realized who the figure was.

"Matt! You're here!" He exclaimed as he ran to the male, the latter sighed and smiled at him.

"Of course I'm here. What else am I supposed to do when my brother's stuck in school?" Matthew stated as he pushed a bag of stuff to Alfred. The latter took it without questioning.

"How is your dance lesson going along?" He asked as the other started looking into the bag. "Careful, your breakfast is in there."

Alfred's eyes lit up at the word breakfast.

"As in, food?"

"...Do you eat anything else for breakfast?"

"Thanks dude! They should give you a best brother award or something!" Alfred gave Matthew a grateful hug, the latter simply nodded, extremely used to this.

"There's also a change of clothes and your wash up stuff and some cash and-"

"Also can I ask for one more favor?" Alfred interrupted, breaking the hug to look at him with pleading eyes.

"... Do I even have the option to say no?" Matthew sighed again; he should have stayed home.

"This is why you're the best brother." Alfred nodded to himself proudly.

* * *

Leaving Matthew to the job of getting the hot chocolate, Alfred almost dashed back to the student council room. he dropped the bag on the table and took out the lunch box. Opening it, he saw an assortment of food, from omelet to bacon... and pancakes.

Seemed like today was Matthew's turn to make breakfast. He smiled at how prepared his brother was at being a housewife. Closing the box, he decided to wake Arthur up and get him to eat something... Well that's what he did to Matt the last time he fainted.

"Artie? Hey, Arthur." Alfred called gently as he patted the latter's shoulder gently.

Arthur woke up to the sound of Alfred's voice. He sat up, bumping his head against him by accident.

"Ow..." he rubbed his head pathetically. Alfred just smiled. "Morning sleeping beauty," he joked pathetically.

Overused, Arthur thought.

...Were his thoughts of what Alfred had said before really that clear?

"Hi," Arthur said lamely. He pulled himself out of the warm sheets, his walking a little wonky. Alfred tried to stop him, and succeeded. For some reason every touch the American gave him send electrical jolts of ecstasy now, making his heartbeats quicken.

Was he really accepting the face he was in love with Alfred?

"You seriously had me worried, you know." Alfred said in a slightly harsher tone as he got Arthur to sit down again. "Just exactly how many meals have you skipped?"

"…Maybe a day's worth of meals?" Arthur admitted sheepishly. He barely noticed the fact Alfred was treating him like an old man. The contact was just electrifying, as much as he hated to admit it. This love was taking a toll on him.

Alfred shook his head in disagreement, and taking the lunch box in his hand, handed it to Arthur. "That's way too many meals for comfort. Now eat up. This is an order." He insisted as he stuffed the fork in Arthur's hand.

For some reason, Arthur was being... softer towards him. Perhaps it was the lack of energy... But Alfred felt happy that Arthur was trusting him enough to obediently tell him the truth.

"Have you eaten? You should practise what you preach." Arthur retaliated. Alfred gave him a "Seriously?" look and nodded towards the spoon, indicating that he was not giving any leeway.

With a sigh, Arthur gave in. Taking the fork, he peered into the paper bag and poked at the food, nibbling at it in silence. He felt Alfred's eyes on him as he ate, making him slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh Bollocks can you quit it?" Arthur burst out. Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Oh never mind," Arthur muttered, continuing to eat his food, but at a quicker rate.

"You eat like a hamster, you know that?" Alfred joked as he poked Arthur's cheek jokingly. "You know, nibbling at your food with puffy cheeks and all."

He quickly pulled his finger away when Arthur imitated an action of biting it.

... A very angry and violent hamster.

Something suddenly clicked in Alfred as he scooped up a spoon of omelette and offered it to Arthur. "Come on, eggs are good for you." he persuaded.

Arthur's blood rushed to his cheeks at Alfred's attempt to spoon-feed him. He jerked backwards, away from the spoon and stared at it till he was cross-eyed. He heard Alfred chuckle, making his heart leap a bit. Was his laughter always this beautiful and musical?

...Not that he'd ever admit that.

Stubbornly, he swiped the spoon out of the American's hand and shoved the omelette into his mouth. It was actually quite good.

Alfred was secretly a little glad that Arthur didn't accept the spoon-feeding. If he did, Alfred would probably end up hugging Arthur for how cute he was.

That, and he was pretty proud that Arthur ate the egg after all.

"Didn't know you could cook," he muttered. There was no way he was impressed.

"Hmm?" Catching the mutter, Arthur laughed. "Oh, I didn't make it. My brother did. You know. Matthew" He wondered if Arthur knew his brother.

Speaking of which... where was Matt and his cup of hot chocolate?

"Ah yes Matthew. He's really well-mannered unlike someone..." Arthur shot Alfred a glance. "I met him in the library and discussed some good reads once. He really has a good taste for books." Arthur smiled a little, recalling their hour long, heated discussion about Lord of the Rings. The Canadian was really wonderful company.

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Arthur sat up a little straighter.

"Hmm.. I don't know.." Casually scooping a piece of bacon up, he offered it to Arthur out of habit. "Last time i saw him, i asked him to get me something at the home econ room..."

Does it take that long to make hot chocolate?

Arthur blushed a little deeper and swiped the spoon again, chewing the bacon quickly. He picked up a piece of the pancakes with his fork and chewed on it slowly. He didn't need Alfred to feed him...even if it was a somewhat affectionate gesture. He looked away from Alfred.

Is being in love really this cumbersome? Arthur didn't know how he would spend the rest of his days being an empty hole longing to see Alfred. He just didn't have the good fortune to have his love returned. Why did he even bother anyway.

Leave, before it's too late.

Arthur was presented with two options.

The first was to enjoy these last few moments and let them hurt Alfred later on.

The second was to run away now and pretend he never had these moments. You can't miss what you don't have

...Can you?

"What's wrong?" Sensing the sudden change, Alfred tilted his head to get a better look at Arthur's expression. "Do you not like bacon?"

How can anyone not like bacon?

"No it's not that I -" Arthur trailed off, suddenly choosing the first option instead. He continued eating, picking up speed as he wolfed it down. He didn't feel like eating at all. In fact he felt like vomiting. But not eating would just upset Alfred and make him fuss over him all over again.

Alfred was a little puzzled by the reaction received, but he sort of got the idea that it wasn't about the bacon.

... Then. What was it about?

"If you don't like me feeding you, I'll quit, alright?" He asked, observing Arthur's expression. "Or are you not feeling well again? if you don't feel like eating anything, it's alright."

He didn't know what he was thinking, but as he said that, he leaned forward and gave Arthur a peck on the cheek.

"Don't force yourself." He smiled and wiped off the bit of maple syrup off Arthur's cheek.

He couldn't help it alright. He's in love, and Arthur, Arthur he... He really want to protect Arthur, he want him to smile only when he's happy, and he want to stop things from hurting him.

Arthur had no response, his mouth left hanging open. Did Alfred just kiss him? He felt like fainting again.

...Which he did.

...Somehow.

Alfred was so glad that he's got enough football playing experience to catch Arthur at the weirdest of time. The fact that Arthur was sitting helped.

"Goddammit Artie, are you trying to break some record or something?!" Alfred wasn't sure if he should be angry or laugh. But when he saw how red Arthur's face was, the worries he had vanished.

He fainted for a different reason...

Alfred couldn't help it, he leaned over to kiss Arthur's right cheek, smiling and wondering if this would actually scare Arthur up or something

"Stop it you idiot!" Arthur mumbled weakly.

He slapped Alfred's face repeatedly, trying to inch away from the American. It was rather futile, given that he was in his arms. Alfred just laughed, making Arthur a little more frustrated. But hey frustration didn't seem to be the dominant feeling.

Seriously why was Alfred kissing hi-

Oh.

Oh no.

No.

Arthur's slapping did hurt a little, but Alfred found it hard to stop teasing him when his reaction was so cute.

"Put me down you idiot!" Oh god he could have made an omelette on his own face now.

Alfred just gave him more kisses as Arthur flailed around smacking the former's face. After a while, Arthur managed to make Alfred let go, resulting in him falling to the ground with a thump.

Alfred laughed as he offered Arthur a hand. "Sheesh, are you that eager to feel the ground?"

Arthur stood up by himself, slapping Alfred's hand away. His head was a blur.

"We need to talk this instance, Jones."

Alfred's smile dropped when Arthur suddenly switched back to the grumpy serious self.

He sat back straight on the couch.

"Talk about?"

"All...this." Arthur didn't know how to explain it without turning into an inferno. He took a deep breath and continued in the most formal voice he could.

"Look, you said you wanted to be friends. I understand that, and I complied. I just...want to sort out what are the boundaries with...interaction and such things." He looked in all directions except for Alfred's face.

"... Ohh..." Alfred looked away, putting a hand to his neck. "You know, about the whole friend thing... Can we... tweak that a little...?"

Arthur gulped. This wasn't going very well. "Please clarify."

"Ahh... You know..." Alfred looked down at the floor instead. "Something... More than friends.." He didn't expect it to be so hard to say. But he's done it. The hero's did it

"You mean...best friends?" Arthur couldn't give a proper reply anymore. It was lame, but he hoped that was what Alfred meant.

... That was a very bad reply right there...

"Something more than that." Alfred continued as his face flushed. "A lot more than that."

"...you mean lovers right," Arthur said quietly. This was the moment he would break his own heart.

"Yeah.. you can say so.." Alfred replied, checking on Arthur's expression from the corner of his eyes.

This would be a good moment to see if Arthur liked guys.

Arthur just stared at Alfred. He didn't know what to say. His mind told him to reject him, yet his heart screamed for him to hug Alfred. Tell him he felt the same way.

No.

He wasn't that lucky.

Arthur didn't say anything. He ran out of the room to the gates. Hot tears pricked his eyes. He reminded himself that doing this would ensure Alfred's safety. He wouldn't join the long line of people he grew close with and ended up hurting in the end.

_I'm sorry._

_I love you._

* * *

**A/N: **Goddamnit Arthur.

Sort-of-early update from us because we're nice people. Thanks so much for reading and we really enjoyed reading all your reviews! (Including that one where the reader counted how many times Alfred took his jacket off. It was really... Observant.)

Please continue to support us, and stay tuned for the next update~!

-Koko


	7. Chapter 7

"Arthur! " seeing the extremely unexpected reaction, Alfred shot up and chased after him, at the same time amazed by how fast Arthur could run. Behind him, someone called.

"Alfred! I've been looking for you since forever! At least tell where where you are next tim-"

"Drop the drink and come with me! We have someone to catch." Interrupting the male, Alfred took the drink from Matthew and downed it in one gulp, then rested the cup on the ground.

"Eh? What? Who?" Matt asked as Alfred grabbed him and charged down the walk way. Dammit. Football players.

"Arthur. You know. Caterpillar brows." Alfred replied as he charged out one school gate, Matthew follow suit.

"And why are we chasing Arthur again?!" Matthew felt like their mind weren't on the same thing here. He spotted Arthur at their far right, running way ahead of them "to the right!"

"Because," Alfred said as he followed the instruction. "he's my dance partner."

Arthur ran all the way home to his little apartment he owned. It wasn't much, just a one-room place. His Aunt and Uncle has kicked him out, making him find a house for himself. They gave him $2000 a month, so the Brit scrimped and saved on electricity and everything.

He plopped down onto the chairbed and curled up into a ball. He shivered as he cried. It was so cold without Alfred.

It took him a few hours to cry himself exhausted, as he fell asleep to await more nightmares.

"Are you sure it's here?" Looking up at the small apartment, Alfred questioned.

They lost Arthur in the crowd, but Matthew showed his might when he managed to get to computer research and found Arthur's address.

"Yea I am sure." Matt sighed. "Now go up already, its already been 3 hour, he got to be in there."

"But Arthur in there?"

"I'll give you two 30 minutes to settle... whatever this is about. And I will come back with some drinks." Deciding to ignore his brother, Matthew stated as he turned to leave for the market.

Alfred, on the other hand, was surprised to find the door unlocked. He gently pushed it aside and entered the small house, spotting Arthur in no time.

The latter was fast asleep on a chair bed, curled up and slightly shivering. Alfred felt his heart prick when he saw the tear stains on Arthur's cheeks.

Didn't he want to protect Arthur?

Sighing to himself, he sat beside Arthur and gently pulled Arthur to him, again cradling the latter in his arms. Then, slowly rocking, he patted the latter's back gently and hummed a random tune.

He's got way too much experience calming people down, especially since matt was scared easily when he was young.

"Its okay now Arthur." He muttered. "I'm here now. Please don't run from me, and let me protect you.

Scott watched from afar. He pitied the American boy really. Arthur was just too scarred to open his heart to loving again. Stubborn little tyke refused to tell anyone. He sighed. Looks like things would have to be taken into his own hands.

He shut his eyes for a moment and breathed, muttering a spell to make him visible to…more mundane beings.

"Hey, you. Now don't freak out."

Alfred tried. He readily tried not to freak out. But with a ghostlike thing just appearing next to him, he couldn't help but flinch a little. Thank god his sudden movement didn't wake Arthur up.

"...a..and you are?" He stuttered; never too fond of ghosts.

"Scott Kirkland. Arthur's dead brother. Now, ye trying to date the little tyke, aye?" Scott didn't wait for a reply. "Now Artie is stubborn as hell so what you're gonna see is something he'll never tell you. But one more thing…yer afraid of blood?"

Alfred gulped; he wasn't scared of bloody since he get injured all the time. But what Scott said was... alarming. Also... dead brother?!

"I-it's okay. I'm fine." He nodded.

"We'll hang on lad. We shall be visiting to Arthur's personal hell, otherwise known as his childhood gone wrong. And please take a bag because it may by disturbing ye hear?" Alfred nodded. "But no matter what, remember, you're doing this for Arthur."

With that, Scott took Alfred's hand and zapped them away.

It was a bright green flash that enveloped them into the past. Scott watched for Alfred's reaction. He looked like he was about to throw up. He gave him a pat on his back and looked up. A young boy with emerald eyes sat before them, playing with a wooden toy train. He was smiling blissfully. Scott smiled. Arthur was so cute when he was young. He still was, grouchiness and all.

"Wait..." Alfred pointed to the adorable child. "That kid there, that's Arthur?"

Woah. And he thought the Arthur now was cute.

He reached out to try and ruffle the kid's hair, but was a little surprised to see his hand went right through the kid's head…

Wait.

What?!

"Don't be surprised Lad. Also, you're not the dream, you're just visiting one. Don't expect to be able to intervene. This is not time travel where you can change things," Scott said gravely.

At this point in time, the door opened, revealing a teenage boy with fiery red hair and eyebrows similar to Arthur's. Scott watched as Alfred's gaze darted from Scott then to the teenager. "Aye, that's me when I was a young lad," Scott confirmed.

"Scottiee!" the young child chirruped. The red-haired boy in the memory smiled and picked Arthur up, hoisting him in the air. Arthur's musical laughter filled the air. Ghost-Scott couldn't help but smile. He missed Arthur's laugh.

"... He liked smiling so much." Alfred muttered to himself at how happy Arthur looked. "What changed that?" he turned to ask the redhead ghost.

Scott's looked down at his feet at the question. "You'll see," he whispered, sadness tinting his voice. Suddenly a loud slam was heard from outside. The Past-Scott looked in the direction of the sound and frowned. He forced a smile and sat Arthur down. The young Brit was giggling and reaching out for a hug.

"Stay here for a while little tyke. I'll be back soon," Scott ruffled the young boy's hair. Arthur pouted then looked around, a frown soon creasing his young features.

"What's wrong?"

"Bunny...outside..." Arthur said.

"Don't worry, I'll get her for yer. Just stay here, aye?" Arthur nodded happily, soon smiling again. He chirped out a word of thanks as Scott strode out.

"Let's go outside," Ghost-Scott mumbled, giving Arthur one last glance tinted with even more sadness. He closed his eyes for a moment and balled up his fists.

"Come lad, and keep your guts yer body," Scott teased half-heartedly. His voice was sounding thinner by the minutes. He passed through the wall of the room and gestured for Alfred to follow.

Alfred took a moment to look at child Arthur and reminded himself what whatever he was going to see, whatever Arthur had gone through, he's going to get him out of its shadow.

He followed, walking through the wall as well.

Standing in the middle of the living room were two people, a man and a lady. The man looked like he hadn't shaved in days. His shirt was crumpled and opened. Even from afar, one could tell he was drunk, judging from the pungent smell of alcohol and his drunkard way of walking.

The man was swaying around drunkenly whilst screaming profanities at the lady, who shouted back in retaliation. It was incoherent screaming. No one could have deciphered it.

"Ye won't be able to understand it, don't try. These are my memories. I didn't understand the shouting, so naturally it would be played out this way," Scott said.

Past-Scott scooped up the rabbit plushie and snuck back into the room. Ghost Scott melted back into the walls, sticking only his torso in. He watched his past self pass Arthur the plushie, giving his younger self a last affectionate ruffle of hair. Arthur hugged the little plushie. "Thank you Scottie! Come play!" Arthur tugged at the hem of his elder brother's shirt. Past Scott smiled sadly, Ghost Scott mirroring that smile. It was a sad one begging for forgiveness.

"Sorry lil' tyke. Not now. I'll return in a moment..." Scott gave Arthur one last kiss on the forehead. Arthur giggled a little.

"What does a kiss there mean?" inquired Arthur before Scott left the room.

"There goes Arthur, being curious again," Ghost Scott sighed.

"It means I love you Arthur, and I don't want you to come to any harm."

Past Scott walked out and slammed the door audibly; rage burning in his bottle-green eyes. "Get off my Mother, Bitch," He sneered at the man.

* * *

**A/N: **I need to stop cliffhanging :')

But to be honest, if I didn't cliff-hang this it would be like 3k words or something (actually are you all okay with that long a chapter?).

And now a word from our sponsors: Bitch. /shot

Scottie is my little baby.

Thanks for all the support you are all sho sweet I can't asdfncnghjavbcgxfbkd ; u ;

See y'all next chapter!

~Kuma


	8. Chapter 8

"This is screwed up!" Alfred muttered to himself, eyebrows knitted together as he frowned. "This is family violence! We have to stop it!" He insisted, pulling at Scott's sleeve, getting him to move.

"We can't," Scott whispered. He looked down at his hand. He was trembling. He looked up at his past self, watching him deliver a punch in the drunkard man's face. He stood in front of the lady, sticking out his hand to protect her. His eyes blazed with determination and hatred.

The man laughed, bending backwards. After a few seconds of maniacal laughing, he sobered down and a tense growl resounded from his throat. Scott prepared himself for a fight, getting his stance ready.

"Don't tell me what to do, I'm your father you little fuck. Show some respect," the man shouted.

"I don't have a father," Scott replied with scorn.

"You won't have a mother either."

For a drunkard, the man was rather stealthy. In a matter of seconds he had whipped out a knife and was charging by the side towards Mother.

"NO!"

Scott swerved, just in time to parry the attack.

With his body.

Alfred's blood ran cold as the scene in front of him carried on. Did he just... witness a murder...? T-that was Arthur's parents right? The one who died... The... He turned to look at Scott, the latter looked away.

"What happened next? What about Arthur?" He demanded, hearing his own voice tremble.

Scott didn't reply. Past Scott was convulsing on the floor as the mad father pressed the blade deeper in. Scott elicited a strangled cry of pain. Ghost Scott winced. He felt as if he, right now, were stabbed in the same place too. It was crazy. Ghosts didn't feel physical pain. The foul smell of blood engulfed his senses. Nausea rolled over.

"Stop it!" Mother shrieked. The man just laughed like a maniac again and sharply pulled the weapon out, another scream escaping fromScott's lips. He then proceeded to stab the young lad repeatedly, leaving a bloody trail behind him. Mother tried to stop him, but he just pushed her away with so much force, she flew and hit her head against the sofa's leg.

At this point the dream got fuzzy. Ghost Scott was hyperventilating and shaking. Tears were about to spill. Ten years on it was still bloody terrifying. How did Arthur live with these kind of nightmares?

"Sorry this part isn't clear...I was urm..." He looked at his past self. The struggle had ceased. His eyelids were drooping, his hands falling limp.

After one last weak cry, darkness enveloped the vision.

"Sorry kid…erm… vision's over. Give it a bit…" Scott felt like fainting.

"Don't trying joking!" Did the bad timing for jokes run in the family?! "Are you okay? Do you want to sit down?" Alfred asked as he tried to find his way in the darkness.

He couldn't believe it. Arthur's family, the family he was raised in...it wasn't a place for anyone, let alone a kid who barely knew the world.

"Perfectly fine," Scott stuttered. Soon light began to pour in. They were back in Arthur's little apartment.

"Sorry, I can't show you the rest. After I...died," Scott had trouble saying the word, even after a decade, "My spirit started wandering around the place watching what happened next. I can only show you my old memories but not the memories I have as a spirit now. I'll just fill you in verbally."

"Basically after that bastard took me down he shot Momma in the head because she fought back. He shot himself afterwards. Arthur was left unscathed. He didn't know about the little tyke.

"Arthur was then brought to live with our bitch of an Aunt. It's amazing how Arthur survived so long. The young tyke moved out during his freshman year. Started part time work. Just to look good that little bitch funded him a little. But it was barely enough. He's a strong one, surviving all that.

"You must be wondering why he blames himself so much... Well...truth is... in council there was this girl that liked him a lot. He rejected her. A week later she was found dead. Suicide. He was the one who found her dead. They were both sent to hospital, Arthur for shock and her for...obvious reasons. Of course Arthur was blamed for it.

"Like I've said, he's a strong one. But after that...he changed. He couldn't live with it. Who could, knowing they might be the reason for someone's death? He didn't have anyone to hold on to, and I was too lost back then to help him," Scott started crying, "he transferred schools. Locked his doors and threw the key away. That's him right now. He's too scared he'd kill someone else."

Scott let tears flow freely. He felt so guilty. He walked over to Arthur and sad on the edge of the chair bed. "I should have been there to save him. I'm his brother for fucks sake," he sobbed, holding Arthur's left wrist. Extremely faint silver lines scarred it. They were faint, but they held such a tragic reason behind their existence.

"Alfred, promise me something."

Alfred nodded almost immediately. He knew how Scott must have felt, being a brother and unable to care for his younger brother. If he were in Scott's shoes... He would probably never forgive himself for not being there.

Then. There's Arthur.

"Don't let him self-destruct. Don't let him attempt death again. Be there for him. Do what I didn't do. Be his reason to keep moving on."

Alfred nodded without hesitating. "I will. no matter what happens, I'll be there."

There nothing stopping him now. He had seen what Arthur had gone through, and he's unwilling to back down

"No matter how long it will take for me to put that smile back on his face, I'll do it." He promised with serious expression he rarely had.

Scott gave a little smile. "Thank you." He gave Alfred a pat on his shoulder before shoving his hands into his pocket and walking through a wall, disappearing from the room.

Arthur was starting to wake up.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys guess who's back?

I know you guys have been waiting for a long time for this chapter. Koko and I are so sorry ;_; Exams are slowly rolling in for us, but give us a month or two we'll update. Thanks for staying with us 3

Until next time!

~Kuma

**EDIT 290913: **Hello readers! We haven't updated in almost a month, and we're terribly sorry to leave you all hanging like this! Currently Koko and I are going through exams (that are really crucial) and we're all struggling to breath. We'll update as soon we survive this ordeal, so please stay with us!

Kuma


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur was starting to wake up.

Alfred found himself sitting beside Arthur again, and smiled gently when the latter started stirring a little in his arms.

As the latter opened his eyes fully, Alfred pulled Arthur into a full hug.

"Please don't run from me Arthur." He muttered. "Let me protect you."

"Let me love you forever."

Arthur's head was whirl again. Alfred was hugging him. Alfred wanted to love him. Tears welled up in his eyes. He feebly tried to push Alfred away, but he was too far into his embrace.

"D-Don't...you'll get hurt…" Arthur cried, only to get shushed by Alfred.

"Shhh It's okay." Alfred let go of the hug and cupped Arthur's teary face with his hand. He kissed the tears away." I'm a footballer, getting injured its a regular thing" he grinned.

"You don't understa-"

Alfred decided to finish what they started, and without giving Arthur a chance to finish, leaned in and kissed him full on the lips. Arthur's lips felt cold.

He wrapped his arms around the smaller male, hoping to warm him up.

Arthur froze in Alfred's arms. The kiss had caught him off guard. He wanted to push Alfred away, but he just couldn't. His insides were a pile of goo now. Slowly, he felt himself loosening up and kissing back.

Arthur forgot when was the last time he felt this safe.

Alfred felt a great weight off him when Arthur kissed back. That's it. He's done it. He's earned Arthur trust...

Even if it was just for now.

Arthur broke off the kiss feeling a little breathless. He never believed it when people told him there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and he thought he never would.

Who knew all it took was for a crazy American to walk into his life and change all of that?

He looked up at Alfred's cerulean eyes. How they sparkled with light and happiness. It was pure beauty. Alfred was truly amazing.

His Alfred was truly amazing.

"You know, I still need a dance partner for the ball." Alfred smiled, face flushed.

"And…?" Arthur ventured, still admiring Alfred's features. A little twinge of jealousy courses through Arthur. Alfred was so dazzling and he didn't look like he was even trying.

"And, " Alfred held Arthur's hands in his own and tilted forward till their noses were touching. "I'm wondering if I have the pleasure of dancing with you. You know, at the ball."

Real smooth Al, real smooth.

Arthur blushed madly at the sudden contact.

"God dammit Alfred. Stop doing that!"

"Eh? Stop doing what?" Alfred laughed as he gave Arthur's cheek a teasing peck.

"... Stop doing whatever you're doing and get your drink."

...The two paused for a second, and looked up immediately.

"I've got hot chocolate, coffee and tea." Raising the plastic bag in his hand, Matthew looked away from the lovey-dovey scene. Sheesh. He told his brother he would give them 30 minutes.

Arthur blushed furiously and quickly pried away Alfred's arms.

Goddamit.

He needs to remember to lock the door.

"H-Hi M-M-Matthew," he stuttered.

"Goddammit Matt!" Alfred exclaimed as he rolled his eyes. "Since when's the last time I keep note of time?"

"It's a good time to start then." Matthew laughed. "good afternoon, Arthur. Please take good care of my brother."

"MATT"

"Come on, I bought cake too." Matthew replied, ignoring Alfred, inviting himself into the room.

"You didn't exactly tell me Matt was coming," Arthur said bitterly. Alfred could only stifle an awkward laugh and scratch the back of his neck. Arthur gave him a signature scowl and ran after Matthew, flustered.

"I didn't think he would come this early." Alfred muttered to himself as he joined the two at the table

"Dibs on the coffee and chocolate cake. Matt tell me you got chocolate cake." He insisted as he sat on a chair.

"Unlike someone, I happen to be able to remember things." Sighing, Matthew passed Alfred his cake. "Arthur, would you like the tea or hot choco?"

"T-Tea please." Arthur took a seat far away from Alfred. He still felt extremely embarrassed. God dammit Alfred. Dazzling yet annoying to the core.

Alfred pouted to Arthur sitting away from him while Matthew simply laughed in his usual soft way.

"Sorry if he didn't tell you about me coming, Arthur." He said, passing Arthur the hot cup of tea. "He tend to miss out on details. Don't be embarrassed or anything, if you don't want me to know anything, then I know nothing." He smiled knowingly.

"What's so embarrassing about it" Alfred pouted some more. "It's just love and stuff. The school's full of it."

"Just love and stuff...?" Arthur scowled. "Is that all this is to you, Jones?!" Arthur aggressively slammed the table and stood, looking at Alfred incredulously.

Oh.

Right.

Alfred wasn't the confused one who was experiencing love for the first time.

Right.

"My apologies for the sudden outburst," Arthur mumbled, taking his seat at the table again

Matthew and Alfred exchanged a look.

"I'll give you 10 mins." He stood up and turned to leave. "Arthur, please don't mind him, half his head is not functioning most of the time." He smiled as he left the apartment.

The room became awkwardly quiet for a moment.

"Umm..." Alfred said as he looked away. "Sorry if I said anything wrong and all... But Artie, I'm not going to lie. I really love you. So I'm sorry if you weren't comfortable with letting people know... But..."

How should he say this? He can't just tell Arthur that he was just as nervous about this as him, right?

"I take this very seriously." He decided. "I love you, and I want to protect you. That will never change. So..."

"Sorry it's just...everything is really new to me. I know this sounds crazy but I've never had such strong feelings towards anyone," Arthur blushed, "you're the first."

Arthur laughed awkwardly. "This must be so abnormal. I'm actually afraid. How am I supposed to feel? What am I supposed to do? I don't want to mess up. I don't want to relive..." He stopped there.

I don't want to relive losing everything again.

Alfred wondered if he should tell Arthur what he had seen...

"Arthur." He said, trying to sound as gentle as possible. "It's alright to be afraid. It's okay to feel sad when you lose something and fine to cry when you're hurt.

"But it's not alright if you stop there, and isolate yourself. It's not alright if you don't help yourself." He moved to the seat beside Arthur.

"So let me help you, alright? I will be fine, I promise. Besides, you've seen Matt, with a brother like that, it's hard to actually get into any trouble." He joked.

"Also." He smiled as he hugged Arthur again, squeezing him a little. "I'm extremely happy to know that I'm your first, but I'm telling you here, you won't get a second."

Arthur felt all warm and cozy again. He chuckled a little and decided to be a little...daring. He looked up at Alfred and gave him a little kiss on the cheek before returning the hug.

"I love you too git."

"Artiee you have no idea how happy that makes mee" He snuggled up to Arthur.

"And, it would make me even happier if you would be my dance partner. Since it won't make sense for me to dance with anyone else."

"Dancing with someone else had better not cross your mind!" Arthur warned.

"Why would I?" Alfred laughed. "I've got the perfect person right here."

* * *

**A/N: WE'RE BACK. Hello dear readers, sorry for leaving you guys hanging, Koko and I had exams to handle. However, we're finally back and updating! (And we're sorry for tearing your hearts to shreds in the last chapter whoops.)**

**With love,**

**Kuma**


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